There’s no better pairing of cozy & classy than the perfect winter coat. You may be thinking: Let’s be practical , it’s just a coat . Ladies, it’s never “just practical” or “just a coat” – investing the extra time and paying attention to a few details could make the difference between looking like “Jackie O” and Jackie who? And judging by her coats, I assure you that “Jackie O” would agree.
A carefully chosen one fits several occasions and will seamlessly transition you from the office to after-work cocktails.
Length. If you’re going for elegant – longer is better. Ask yourself what length most of your skirts are, and make sure that the length of your coat is at least an inch longer than the length of your skirt. I stand by this one – I’ve seen too many layered fiascoes that could have easily been avoided, to be convinced otherwise.
Cut. Ah, and then there’s the cut, the way the coat is tailored, the way it fits. Take a few minutes to look for inspiration from women whose every step emanates elegance and grace: Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and more recently Queen Rania of Jordan, Princess Mary of Denmark and miss Kate Middleton.
Try it on, if it falls short of fitting beautifully in the following areas – don’t buy it – it’s not fit for a lady.
Shoulders. Make sure you can comfortably move your arms up and down, and the shoulder seams don’t extend past where your shoulder ends. The sleeve itself should lie flat against your arm without any (unintended) puffs or puckers. No shoulder pads, please, unless they are very, very light. Raglan sleeves are very flattering, and give your shoulders a smooth, rounded look – very feminine and a personal favorite!
Sleeves. Three-quarter sleeves are in, sleeves that are too short, are not. Err on the side of length – ideally, I like my sleeve to fall just above (2 cm) my knuckles.
From the hip down, there’s a bit of leeway in terms of fit, depending on the style of the coat, however from the hip up, there are no excuses – the coat must nicely fit your figure (and by this I mean there are no visible pulls, or puckers).
Mixing it up. The beauty of a longer coat is that it works just as well with a skirt or dress, as it does with a dress pant, or jeans. Nicely fitting boots are a bonus.
Visually speaking, there’s one major don’t: never wear an A-line skirt with an A-line coat which is shorter than the skirt (this applies to both pea coats and longer coats). Never.
And that, ladies, is all there is to it – now equipped with the style know-how of “Jackie O”, let the cozy classiness begin!
S.K.